Method and system for determining whether an individual takes appropriate measures to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections

ABSTRACT

A system and method for caregivers, central monitoring companies and other persons to monitor whether individuals entering patients&#39; rooms take appropriate steps to mitigate the spread of healthcare associated infections to the patients receiving healthcare services. Though data from one or more of 3D Motion and Sound Sensors, individuals within a room may be tracked within a virtual zone, and the virtual zone may be shift based on the location of the person. It may be determined whether an individual within the virtual zone washed or sanitized his or her hands prior to entering the room or the virtual zone and may notify caregivers or other persons of individuals approaching the virtual zone in general or without completing a health-care associated infection mitigation action.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/611,363, filed Feb. 2, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/599,498, filed Jan. 17, 2015, which applicationclaims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/928,485, filed Jan. 17, 2014. Each of these applications isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections that are acquiredby patients during the course of receiving treatment for other healthconditions. According to recent studies, one in every twentyhospitalized patients will acquire an infection during the course ofreceiving healthcare treatment for a different condition. In terms ofthe economic impact, studies estimate the overall annual direct medicalcosts of HAIs range between $28.4 and $45 billion. The medical facilitymust typically bear the cost of the HAI which puts a strain on thefinances of the healthcare provider.

SUMMARY AND DEFINITIONS

The disclosure describes a system and method that is directed to theabove problems and provides for a system and method that allowscaregivers, central monitoring companies and other persons to monitorwhether individuals entering patients' rooms take appropriate steps tomitigate the spread of HIAs to the patients receiving healthcareservices. In one non-limiting example, the system and method determinewhether an individual who has entered the room of a patient has washedhis or her hands prior to approaching the patient.

Non-limiting definitions that will be used in describing certainembodiments of the present invention include:

3D Motion and An electronic device that contains one or more SoundSensor cameras capable of identifying individual objects, people andmotion regardless of lighting conditions, as well as one or moremicrophones to detect audio. The cameras can utilize technologiesincluding but not limited to color RGB, CMOS sensors, infraredprojectors and RF-modulated light. They may also contain microprocessorsand image sensors to detect and process information both sent out andreceived by the various cameras. The electronic device can calculate ifthere has been a change in location of a person or object of interestover a period of time. As a non- limiting example, a person's right kneecan be at time T1 located at coordinates (x1, y1, z1) in a picture frametaken by the camera. At time T2 the right knee is capture by the pictureframe taken by the camera at coordinates (x2, y2, z2). Based on thisinformation, motion, speed and direction can be derived utilizing theelapsed time and comparing the two 3D coordinates over the elapsed time.As opposed to conventional motion sensors, which use captured motion tocontrol a camera, the 3D Motion and Sound Sensor used with the methodand system, uses the camera in order to compute the motion. Thecamera/sensors are preferably continuously on at all times while themonitoring is occurring, regardless of whether a person or object ofinterest is moving or not moving. The camera preferably views the entireroom or a large portion of the room simply by its placement in a mannersufficient for the room to be visible to the camera. Thus, the cameradoes not require any triggering event to cause the camera to beginrecording video or transmitting video to the other components of thesystem for analysis. As the video camera is recording or otherwisetransmitting video to the other system components at all times duringmonitoring, the electronic device is able to immediately track, captureand/or record the individual's movements at all times within thepatient's room and will be able to provide information as to whether andwhen the individual enters the room, whether and when the individualwashed his or her hands, whether and when the individual approaches thepatients, whether and when the individual leaves the room, etc.Preferably the 3D Motion and Sound Sensor records, captures and/orstreams video. As video is technically made up of individual pictureframes (i.e. 30 frames per second of video), the above reference topicture frames is referring to frames of video. The 3D Motion and SoundSensor is located within the room of the patient being monitored andpotentially just outside of the patient's room. It is connected to thecomputerized communication and computerized monitoring systems via adata connection (TCP/IP or comparable technology). Computerized Acomputer system programmed to monitor Monitoring activity of the 3DMotion and Sound sensor(s). System The computerized monitoring systemwill preferably be located within the patient's room and can beconnected to the centralized monitoring station at the facility but canalso be located at any physical location so long as a data connection(TCP/IP or comparable technology) exists between the computerizedmonitoring system, the computerized communication system, and 3D motionand sound sensor. The computerized monitoring system preferably makesthe determination of a whether and when the individual approaches thepatient and whether and when the individual washed his or her handsprior to approaching the patient based on the data received by the videocamera sensors. Computerized A computer system programmed to facilitateCommunication communication between the patient and/or System individualand computerized monitoring system in the event it is determined thatthe individual did not wash his or her hands prior to approaching thepatient. This system may include but is not limited to amplifiedspeakers, microphones, lights, monitors, computer terminals, mobilephones and or other technologies to allow for the electroniccommunication to take place. The system can also be designed to notifythe individual that they need to wash their hands also through a textmessage or other electronic message sent to the individual's smartphone, pager, etc. The computerized communication system will preferablybe located within the patient's room being monitored but certaincomponents of the system are mobile by their nature (i.e. mobile phones,pagers, comput- ers) and can also be located at any location so long asa data connection (TCP/IP or comparable technology) exists between thecomputerized monitoring system, the computerized communic- ation system,and 3D motion and sound sensor. Healthcare- Infections acquired byindividuals while receiving associated healthcare services in aninstitutional setting or infection (HIA) other location where thehealthcare services are being provided Centralized A computer displayconnected to the centralized Monitoring monitoring station, showingvideo and audio of all Primary Display patient rooms connected to thecentralized monitoring station. Centralized A computer display connectedto the centralized Monitoring monitoring station, showing video andaudio of Alert Display any patient room where it was determined that anindividual is approaching or has approached a patient or has enteredinto a safety zone and such individual has not washed their hands,preferably the display of the specific individual/ room on the alertdisplay is made at the moment such determination is made. SystemDatabase A computer database that electronically stores records of allalerts generated, notifications, confirmation requests, responses,reconfirmation requests and any other desired information concerning theindividual's entry, visit, movements, actions and/or exit within thepatient's room. Caregiver A relative, friend, individual, company orfacility whose purpose is to provide assistance in the care of dailyliving activities for individuals who are disabled, injured, elderly orotherwise in need of assistance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a workflow flowchart for monitoring and determining whether anindividual who enters a patient's room takes the appropriate stepsrequired (such as, but not limited to, washing his or her hands) priorto approaching the patient in accordance with an example embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 2-14 illustrate various screen shots for configuring the systemfor operation in accordance with example embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram and workflow of the centralizing monitoringand alerting system in accordance with an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A hand-washing compliance determination for an individual entering apatient's room, prior to the individual approaching the patient isillustrated in FIG. 1. Hand-washing compliance is considerednon-limiting and the system and method can be used to determine if theindividual is compliant with other activities or events prior, during orafter approaching the patient, including, but not limited to, otheractivities that if not undertaken are also known to assist or aid in thespread of HIAs.

Specifically, FIG. 1 shows the workflow for monitoring whether anindividual takes appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIsthrough the use of 3D Motion and Sound sensors. At step F1 a, one ormore 3D Motion and Sound sensors can be installed in a patient's room,home, hospital room, or other place of temporary or permanent residence.At step F1 b, the one or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors can beconfigured to recognize the patient and other individuals usingbiometric identifiers such as facial recognition, height, distancebetween points on the body, etc. Alternatively or additionally, avirtual three-dimensional zone around the patient can be created througha software application portion of the system to define an area aroundthe patient. The individual being a certain predetermined distance fromthe area or entering the area can be recognized as the event fordetermining that the individual is approaching the patient.

Furthermore, as the system can be programmed to recognize the patient asdescribed above and below, the system can also be programmed to allowthe virtual zone around the patient to follow the patient, if thepatient moves around the room or out of the bed. As a non-limitingexample, if the patient is sitting in a chair within the room, as thesystem recognizes the patient by the biometric identifiers, the locationvirtual zone can he shifted so that it remains around the patient whilethe patient sits in the chair. Accordingly, the determination of whetherthe individual is approaching the patient can be then made based on thepatient's current position in the chair. Other non-limiting examplesinclude the patient being in the restroom, the patient looking out theirwindow, etc.

At step F1 c, data from the one or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors aresent to a computerized monitoring system. At step F1 d, when (or if) thecomputerized monitoring system detects or determines an individual, whois not the patient, entering the area (such as the virtual areadiscussed above) where a patient resides and approaching the patient itwill make a record in the database of such event and attempt todetermine whether an appropriate measure has been taken by saidindividual to mitigate the spread of infection using one or more methodsincluding but not limited to washing their hands or utilizing handsanitation soaps, gels or lotions. Where the location of the handsanitizer, sink, etc. is outside of the patient's room, one or moreadditional 3D Motion and Sound sensors can be positioned and configuredin order to determine (capture) whether the individual washed and/orsanitized their hands prior to entering the patient's room. Thiscaptured video can also be stored and/or reviewed by the ComputerizedMonitoring System when the system makes its determination. Depending onthe setup of the particular room, the location of a 3D Motion and Soundsensor and/or the coverage area seen capabilities of the 3D Motion andSound sensor, it is possible that a single 3D Motion and Sound sensormay be able to provide information concerning the patient's definedvirtual zone and also provide the information regarding whether theindividual washed his or her hands, etc.

“Washing hands”, “Washing his or her hands”, etc. shall be defined toinclude traditional hand washing, hand sanitizing, etc.

A record can also be electronically entered in a database to record alack of compliance and/or compliance by the individual. Where theindividual is in compliance, the computerized monitoring, system willcontinually monitor the data being sent from the one or more 3D motionand sound sensors. Additionally, where a lack of compliance is detected,the computerized monitoring system can be programmed to automaticallybegin, or manually restarted to begin, again monitoring data from theone or more 3D motion and sound sensors. However, at all times duringoperation, the 3D motion and sound sensors are on and are capturing,recording and/or streaming video from the room and/or just outside theroom, and do not require a triggering event to initiate recording.

At step F1 e, when the system detects that an appropriate action hasbeen taken by the individual to mitigate the spread of infections, arecord can be made in the database and audible and/or visible alerts canbe issued to the individual acknowledging said compliance. Should theindividual continue to approach or remain in the vicinity of the patientwithout having taken appropriate steps to mitigate the spread ofinfections, an audible and/or visible alert to such individual,notifying said individual of the need to take preventative measures toprevent the spread of infections can be sent by the computerizedcommunication system. Other personal notifications to the individual canalso be sent such as calling the individual's cell phone or smart phone,sending a text message, calling the individual's pager, etc. The systemcan monitor, using gesture recognition, location tracking or othermeasures whether said individual has taken appropriate steps to mitigatethe spread of infection such as washing their hands or utilizing handsanitation soaps, gels or lotions. Particularly with location tracking,virtual zones can also be defined around the hand washing sink, todetermine or detect if the individual entered the sink zone prior toapproaching the patient. It is also within the scope of the invention,to provide a water flow sensor which can be in electronic communicationwith one or more components of the system (i.e. computerized monitoringsystem). The water flow sensor can be provided or in communication withthe water flow line of the sink, such that when the hot and/or coldwater valve of the sink is opened to permit water flow into the sink,the sensor sends a signal representing such information to the system.

At step F1 f, if the individual approaching the patient or within closeproximity to the patient fails to comply with the audible and/or visiblewarnings to comply, notification can be given to the caregivers,individual's employer and/or other designated persons that theindividual has failed to comply. Notification of caregivers can be madethrough phone call, text messaging, speakerphone systems, email, orother electronic means of communication. The system database can also beupdated to reflect actions taken.

Where an individual breathing on the patient is also an issue for theparticular patient and/or whether exposure to a patient with aninfectious disease is an issue, the Computerized Monitoring System canalso be programmed to determine whether or not the individual is wearinga mask. The present invention method would go through similar steps ofmonitoring and notification as described above for the “hand washing”monitoring. Though “mask” monitoring preferably would be in addition to“hand washing” monitoring, it is within the scope of the invention thatthe system is also programmed to monitor “mask” monitoring, without“hand washing” monitoring. Similarly, if the individual is required tobe wearing gloves, similar steps can also be performed to confirmcompliance or alert for non-compliance.

FIGS. 2 through 14 illustrate several set up screen shots forconfiguring the virtual zones and alert types. In FIG. 2, the bed zonecan be configured for a given or specific 3D Motion and Sound Sensor. Tobegin configuration, the user can hover over the 3D Motion and SoundSensor video window with the cursor, right-click, select plugin and thenselect configure plug-in. A window will popup showing the 3D Motion andSound Sensors' feed. The user selects the icon for the type of zone theywish to draw, which as a non-limiting example and illustrative purposes,can be a bed zone (See FIG. 3). Similar steps are taken for creating theabove-mentioned virtual sink zone, where provided.

As non-limiting examples, the icons that appear on the screen forselection can include the following symbols shown in FIG. 4. In thisnon-limiting example, in no particular order, some of the icons include,Bed Zone, Auto Bed Zone (Select Patient), Auto Bed Zone (Auto-select),Saved Zones, and Clear All.

As seen in FIG. 5, to place a zone, the user clicks on the screen wherehe or she would like to start the zone. Then, the cursor is moved to thecorner point for the zone and clicked again. The user continues toselect additional points until the zone is drawn to the user'ssatisfaction. Preferably, the user clicks on the round end point of thebeginning of the zone to complete the zone (See FIG. 5). When the zonehas been completed, the zone can appear and a depth range box (i.e.square, rectangle, etc. disposed over the patient on the screen) can beprovided on the screen, such as, but not limited to, in the middle ofthe screen or zone (see FIG. 7), though any location on the screen isconsidered within the scope of the invention. As seen in FIG. 7, uponcompletion the zone appears and has a depth range box preferably in themiddle.

As seen in FIG. 6, the user can adjust the depth range for any givenzone. By preferably double clicking on the depth range box or by otherconventional selection methods, an Edit Depth Window can appear. Theuser can enter in the depth ranges (preferably in millimeters (mm)though not considered limiting) and then the user can click the Savebutton or icon when done to store the entered values.

If there are any other types of zones to draw for the particular sensor,the above steps are repeated to place the next zone and the depthsetting can be adjusted for each if necessary. Additionally, all zonescan be cleared by clicking on or otherwise selecting the Clear All iconin the toolbar. Once all of the zones wires are configured, the user candose the window to finish or can be provided with the option to save thezone configuration for later use.

As seen in FIG. 8, to access the main settings window, the user canclick or otherwise select the Settings menu and the select Main Settingsfrom the drop-down list. As one non-limiting alternative, the user canclick on the Gear icon (¤) or other designated icon in the toolbar toaccess the main settings window.

As seen in FIG. 9, for one non-limiting way to configure a new Alert,the user can select the Alerts tab and then click on or otherwise selectthe Add button, which can result in the Configure Alert box appearing onthe screen (See FIG. 10). As seen in FIG. 10, under the Event field, theuser can then select the event from the drop down list that the userwishes to send an alert on. Though not shown, the dropdown list caninclude an alert for non-compliance with hand washing, non-compliancefor not wearing a breathing mask, etc.

As seen in FIG. 11, once the Event type is selected, under the Actionfield, the user can select the Action he or she wishes to have thesystem perform when the selected Event is detected or determined. Oncethe Event and Action have been selected the OK button (See FIG. 12) canbe selected to save the selected entries.

For certain Actions an additional field may need to be completed tofinish the Action. If the field is required, it can appear below theAction dropdown (See FIG. 13). If no further fields are required, theConfigure Alert box can display N/A (See FIG. 12) or just be blank. Asmentioned above, once all settings are selected, the user clicks orotherwise selects the OK button, which causes the new Alert to be listedin the Alerts tab window. To edit an existing Alert, the user firstclicks on or otherwise selects the Alert and then selects the Editbutton (See FIG. 14). To delete an Alert, first highlight it and thenclick on the Delete button (See FIG. 14).

To add more Alerts, the user clicks or selects the Add button andrepeats the above described steps. Once finished, the user clicks on orotherwise selects the bottom corner OK button to save and close thewindow.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram for centralized monitoring andalerting and shows the workflow for centralized monitoring and alertingregarding whether an individual takes appropriate measures to preventthe spread of HAIs based on information sent from the use of 3D Motionand Sound sensors. One or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors are installedin and/or just outside an individual's room, home, hospital room, orother place of temporary or permanent residence and connected to thecomputerized monitoring and communication systems as described inFIG. 1. At step F15 a the video, audio and alert data from the sensor(s)can be sent to a centralized monitoring station by the computerizedmonitoring and communication systems where the data is aggregated.Preferably, the centralized monitoring station receives data at alltimes transmitted, sent or broadcasted from the sensors to allow theroom and/or various individuals to be constantly monitored at thecentralized station while they are in the patient's room, regardless ofwhether or not an individual takes appropriate measures to prevent thespread of HAIs.

At step F15 b, all video, audio and alert feeds received by thecentralized monitoring station can be displayed on the centralizedmonitoring primary display. Alternatively, multiple centralizedmonitoring primary displays can be utilized based on the quantity ofrooms to be monitored at a given time. At step F15 c, when thecentralized monitoring system receives an alert from any of thecomputerized monitoring and communication systems indicating that anindividual in any of the monitored rooms or other locations has nottaken appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIs, the video,audio and alert information can be displayed on the CentralizedMonitoring Alert Display for the specific patient's room. Should thecentralized monitoring station receive alerts from more than one of thecomputerized monitoring and communication systems indicating that anindividual in a monitored room or location has not taken appropriatemeasures to prevent the spread of HAIs, the centralized monitoring alertdisplay will display the video, audio and alerting information from allsuch instances at the same time. If no alert is received by thecentralized monitoring station, preferably nothing is displayed on theCentralized Monitoring Alert Display. At step F15 d, an electronicrecord of any alerts received by the Centralized Monitoring Station canbe stored in an electronic database, which is in communication with theCentralized Monitoring Station.

The above described system uses several components, including, but notlimited to:

-   -   a. One or more 3D Motion and Sound Sensors. However, it also        within the scope of the invention to eliminate the sound sensor        and have the functions of the invention be performed with only        3D motion sensors that are continuously on and record, capture        and/or stream video;    -   b. Computerized Monitoring System in electronic communication        with the one or more 3D Motion and Sound Sensors;    -   c. Computerized Communication System in electronic communication        with the Computerized Monitoring System;    -   d. A Centralized Monitoring Primary Display;    -   e. A Centralized Monitoring Alert Display; and/or    -   f. Database.

The various components can be in electrical, wired, and wirelesscommunication with each other. Located remote is defined to mean thatthe centralized monitoring station, centralized monitoring primarydisplay and/or centralized monitoring alert display is not physicallylocated within the monitored rooms. However, the location can be on thesame premises at a different location (i.e. nurse station for thepremises, hospital, etc.) or a different location (i.e. monitoringstation, etc.).

The automatic detection and notification or individuals who do not takeappropriate steps to prevent the spread of infections will providesignificant administrative and clinical benefits to caregivers andindividuals alike, including, but not limited to, the following publicbenefits:

-   -   a. Automation of preventative measure detection and notification        of caregivers or other designated entities.    -   b. Reduction in incidences of HAIs.    -   c. Increased survival rate for individuals who are susceptible        to HAIs.    -   d. Reduction in costs for hospitalization and medical care        related to HAIs.

All components of the present invention system and their locations,electronic communication methods between the system components,electronic storage mechanisms, etc. discussed above or shown in thedrawings, if any, are merely by way of example and are not consideredlimiting and other component(s) and their locations, electroniccommunication methods, electronic storage mechanisms, etc. can be chosenand used and all are considered within the scope of the invention.

Unless feature(s), part(s), component(s), characteristic(s) orfunction(s) described in the specification or shown in the drawings fora claim element, claim step or claim term specifically appear in theclaim with the claim element, claim step or claim term, then theinventor does not consider such feature(s), part(s), component(s),characteristic(s) or function(s) to be included for the claim element,claim step or claim term in the claim when and if the claim element,claim step or claim term is interpreted or construed. Similarly, withrespect to any “means for” elements in the claims, the inventorconsiders such language to require only the minimal amount of features,components, steps, or parts from the specification to achieve thefunction of the “means for” language and not all of the features,components, steps or parts describe in the specification that arerelated to the function of the “means for” language.

While the invention has been described and disclosed in certain termsand has disclosed certain embodiments or modifications, persons skilledin the art who have acquainted themselves with the invention, willappreciate that it is not necessarily limited by such terms, nor to thespecific embodiments and modification disclosed herein. Thus, a widevariety of alternatives, suggested by the teachings herein, can bepracticed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and rightsto such alternatives are particularly reserved and considered within thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized method for remotely monitoring anindividual, the method performed by a computerized monitoring system andcomprising: accessing data from one or more 3D Motion and Sound Sensorsin a room with an individual; identifying the individual using one ormore biometric identifiers; establishing a virtual zone around theindividual based on identifying the individual using one or moredistances between points of the individual's body; tracking movement ofthe individual using the one or more distances between points of theindividual's body; and upon determining the individual has moved,automatically adjusting a location of the virtual zone to correspond toan updated location of the individual determined by the one or moredistances between points of the individual's body.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining whether a second person moveswithin a certain predetermined distance or enters the virtual zone. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising determining whether the secondperson has washed or sanitized his or her hands prior to entering thevirtual zone.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising entering arecord in a database of whether the second person washed or sanitizedhis or her hands prior to entering the virtual zone.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising issuing audible and/or visual alertsacknowledging compliance by the second person with ahealthcare-associated infection mitigation action.
 6. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising issuing audible and/or visual alertsnotifying the individual and/or the second person of the need for thesecond person to perform a healthcare-associated infection mitigationaction.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more biometricidentifiers used to identify the individual comprise one or more offacial recognition, height, and one or more distances between points onthe individual's body.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingrecognizing one or more additional people in the room.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining whether a second personapproaching the virtual zone is wearing a mask.
 10. The method of claim9, further comprising determining whether the second person hascompleted a healthcare-associated infection mitigation action.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining whether another personapproaching the virtual zone is wearing gloves.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the virtual zone is a 3D zone.
 13. A computerized method forremotely monitoring an individual, the method performed by acomputerized monitoring system and comprising: accessing data from oneor more 3D Motion and Sound Sensors in a room with an individual;identifying the individual using one or more biometric identifiers;establishing a virtual zone around the individual based on one or moredistances between points of the individual's body; tracking movement ofthe individual using the one or more distances between points on theindividual's body; upon determining the individual has moved,automatically adjusting a location of the virtual zone to correspond toan updated location of the individual determined by the one or moredistances between points of the individual's body; and monitoring for asecond person approaching the virtual zone.
 14. The method of claim 13,further comprising determining whether the second person has completed ahealthcare-associated infection mitigation action.
 15. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising determining whether the second person iswearing a mask.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprisingdetermining whether the second person is wearing gloves.
 17. Acomputerized method for remotely monitoring an individual, the methodperformed by a computerized monitoring system and comprising: accessingdata from one or more 3D Motion and Sound Sensors in a room with anindividual; identifying the individual using one or more biometricidentifiers; establishing a virtual zone around the individual based onone or more distances between points of the individual's body; trackingmovement of the individual using the one or more distances betweenpoints of the individual's body; upon determining the individual hasmoved, automatically adjusting a location of the virtual zone tocorrespond to an updated location of the individual determined by theone or more distances between points of the individual's body;monitoring for a second person approaching the virtual zone; and upondetermining the second person enters the virtual zone without completinga healthcare-associated infection mitigation action, initiating sendingan alert.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the alert is sent to thesecond person.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the alert is sent toa centralized monitoring station.